Inadvertent Stowaway
by alonesearcher
Summary: Roxas might not have meant to stowaway on a Pirate's ship, but that doesn't mean he wont' walk the plank if he doesn't cooperate. Riding a ship to another continent might not take him far enough from the things that chase him though. (Axel/Roxas)
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: So begins Roxas's tale of mystery, adventure, and romance. Thanks to my partner-in-crime for editing for me._

 _Disclaimer about not owning Kingdom Hearts._

 **Chapter 1: Meet the Protagonist**

The salty air stung his lungs, each sharp exhale of cold breath burning with a small sharp pain. He pushed his unhappy body forward, ignoring the discomfort as he raced through the crowd. It was not easy to flee from pursuers without alerting the people around you, but the sea worn fisherman and sailors at the wharf were eager to ignore unusual behavior. The small boy darting about was most likely just an errand boy, and they had a precious limited time frame to enjoy on land before they had to return to their boats.

Gruff voices and the busy sounds of cargo being shifted masked the voices calling for him. The sound of trailing feet thudded against the wet pier, too loud to his searching ears. He blinked through the darkness, desperately trying to find a route to safety, a path that only he could take without his potential captors being allowed to follow.

He flittered between bodies, ducked under crates being carried and jumping over stacks of wares so he could break out of their sight line. He had to duck away, or find another tactic to elude them. He doubled back, hoping he hadn't drawn unwanted attention from the workers. They showed zero interest, despite his concern. His eyes found a darker area, less populated. His heart sped up as he found it was a dead end area. He went to leave immediately, but found himself hesitating as an idea presented itself.

He quickly looked to make sure that no one was paying him any mind, and then he rapidly searched in a dark corner filled with cargo. The boxes were mostly food and other provisions, but he was lucky to find a few with blankets and other clothes. He redistributed them to make room, adrenaline making his hands clumsy as he stole looks over his shoulders for anyone discovering his activities. Luck was on his side as he quickly crawled inside the box he'd mostly cleared, replacing the lid gingerly. His heart was so loud in the small space, he'd give anything to quiet it to its normal, unnoticed rhythm.

He hadn't felt how cold his skin was before. His cloak was soaked, and had almost been more a burden than help. He was tired too, exhausted from the pursuit. He knew he wasn't in the clear. The people chasing him would search around where they last saw him. He should keep his wits, be ready to react if found. His breathing slowed though, and no sounds but the wind breached the box. Despite his effort, he couldn't help but drift off. The weight of his day was too much, and the comfort and dark of the small area lulled him away.

His eyes snapped open as his body was suddenly in motion. He rolled on the ground, trying to use his hands to push himself up, but a booted foot connected violently with his stomach. He grunted in pain as he was knocked on his back, the same foot placing itself on his chest, holding him in place. His sleep weary brain cleared as the cool night air and adrenaline washed over him. He looked up at his assaulter, hands automatically grabbing the offending appendage.

"And here is the last stowaway," the man pressed harder on his chest for emphasis, forcing a grunt of pain. "That makes three."

He stole a glance at the guffawing crowd that the man was addressing. Two of the men were on their knees with their hands bound, his fellow stowaways. They both looked angry to have been caught, not that he couldn't sympathize. Had he managed to sleep through his box being loaded onto a boat?

"What do you want to do with them Captain?" His capture asked the crowd. He smiled down at him, "the usual?"

He glared up, annoyed at the amusement of the man with his long spiky red hair.

"Yes," a formidable looking person, with long blue hair and an X-shaped scar, answered him. "If they want to receive any food on this voyage, our uninvited guest had best learn to love their new lives as slaves. Let the boy up Axel, I don't think he's going to cause any trouble. We're a little far out for them to decide to swim for it at this point."

The red haired man named Axel removed his offending foot from his chest, backing away to watch him quickly stand. He took a moment to get his bearings. He was on the deck of a ship, as he'd deduced. The crew was gathered around in a semi-circle to stare at him and the other two men, who for varying reasons had ended up on a ship actively sailing away from dry land.

"You have a choice to make," the scarred man, apparently the Captain, addressed them. "Swear loyalty to me, and you may yet survive this excursion. Or, if you prefer, you can refuse, and immediately vacate my ship."

 _Decisions, decisions_ he thought to himself, wrapping his cloak tighter around his body. This could turn out to be a blessing though. The people who had chased him were miles away, on a continent he was speedily heading away from. There was almost no way they'd find him on a random vessel floating the seas of the world. It was a perfect hiding place. If the captain was talking about enslaving them, then chances were this ship wasn't up to anything good too, and therefor would be even harder to track.

"Slavery sounds good to me," he offered. Hard work he could deal with, especially if it meant a place to sleep and food.

The man that had been called Axel smirked. The other two men hesitated more, but predictably came around, nodding their agreement. The Captain didn't seem surprised they'd quickly agreed to slavery, "your names?"

The two other stowaways exchanged glances. "Hayner," offered one with dirty blond hair. "Seifer," the other bit off.

He shifted his feet. "I'm… Roxas."

Axel led them down into the belly of the ship, his gainful step pissing Roxas off. The guy had to be pushing the other side of six feet, but it was hard to tell because he was so damn thin it might have skewed his perception. Either way he towered over the three fugitives, Roxas most of all.

The ship was mostly dark, sparse lighting giving just enough to them so they didn't trip over each other. Axel almost floated into a side room, and Roxas suspected his familiarity with the ship was what made it easy for him to navigate, or at least that's what he told himself as the man glided with cat-like grace about the halls.

He led them to a long room packed with hammocks, makeshift futons, and carved out beds. They were all stuffed along the walls with bags filled with the crew's personal belongings. "Here's where the crew sleeps," Axel offered gaily, "the two rooms across the hall are just like this, so you'll have to carve out your own niche if you want a place to sleep at night. Seeing as we're on a boat there's not much point to nicking each other's belongings, and if you're caught doing it I don't imagine anyone will save you from a dagger in your belly."

Roxas wasn't concerned with that, seeing as he owned the clothes on his back and nothing else. He doubted that even that fact would cause him to desire the belongings of this crew though.

He stole a glance at his fellow slaves, wondering what their purpose was for having stowed away. Probably wasn't an accident like his. They both looked like they were fuming, probably having not planned on getting caught and enslaved. For him, this was a happy accident. Being enslaved did not mean the same thing for him as it did for them he supposed.

Axel looked them over with satisfaction, "We've got a couple hours yet before dawn, so I suggest you take advantage of it and get some sleep. They'll be plenty to keep you occupied in the morning." He winked at Roxas, who rolled his eyes in response. It didn't erase the satisfied smirk from the man's face as he slunk out of the room.

Roxas sighed, rooting about for a minute as he looked for a spot to sleep. It wasn't quite as dense as it had looked at first, and there was spare floor space for him that was out of the way enough that he wouldn't be stepped on by anyone not trying to. He sat with his back to the wall, wondering if it would be too uncomfortable to sleep sitting up. Now the young man was glad now he'd lugged around his cloak. The ship was very cold.

"What the hell are you doing?"

He looked up. The two blondes were staring at him confused. Well… the one called Seifer was angrier, or maybe indignant? "Sleeping?" He offered, hoping he didn't want Roxas's spot. He was pretty attached to it now.

The one with more honey colored hair and brown eyes looked slightly amazed at him. "How can you think about sleeping?"

Roxas cocked his head, trying to remember what this boy had called himself. "I've had a long couple days."

Seifer growled. "You're okay with following their orders?"

"Well, in their defense I did stow away on their ship, albeit accidently," Roxas scrambled to his feet as Seifer took a threatening step towards him. He was not interested in being the target of this guy's misplaced anger. "What?"

"Guys like you piss me right the fuck off," he snapped. His friend placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "Seifer chill, being a slave works just as well as being a stowaway. At least they didn't kill us."

"Shut up!" He jerked away from the other boy's touch. "You think being someone else's property is better!?"

"No!" Was his automatic response. "I was just thinking it wouldn't be as bad as hiding ourselves for who knows how long."

So they didn't know how long the ship was meant to be at sea. Roxas hoped it was headed far away from where it started.

Still, he hoped these two settled down soon so he could sleep.

"You and your brilliant plans Hayner," Seifer rolled his arm in a habitual way. "Damn it!"

Hayner crossed his arms while Roxas did his best to memorize his face and name. "It's too late to raise protest now Seifer."

He got a death glare in response, before the taller boy turned and swept out of the room. Hayner scoffed. "I didn't hear him come up with any ideas." He turned to the other blond, extending a hand. "Anyways, fellow stowaway, I'm Hayner. It was Roxas?"

Roxas was taken aback for a moment, before reaching up to grab the extended appendage, "Yeah."

For some reason touching Hayner's hand felt like a jolt of electricity to his skin. He appreciated the sudden show of solidarity though. The slightly taller boy made a small wave of goodbye and headed towards the door where his friend had disappeared. "See you in the morning for our extensive manual labor."

"Looking forward to it," he muttered back, returning the gesture.

When the two had been gone for a good minute Roxas exhaled, relieved, sliding down into his spot again. He wondered idly when the rest of the crew usually went to sleep, but he didn't want to stay awake and find out. Once again he allowed himself to rest.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: In which the characters are all jerks to each other._

 _Did you see the trailer from E3 for Kingdom Hearts 3!? I'm so excited!_

 _Thank you so much for reading my story! And thanks to my partner-in-crime for editing for me._

 _Disclaimer about not owning Kingdom Hearts._

 **Chapter 2: Day One of Being a Pirate**

Sometime during the night the rest of the crew wandered in. Roxas barely stirred, only mildly aware of their presence. Whether they thought he was odd like Hayner and Seifer wasn't of any consequence, sleeping was too enjoyable to stop and find out.

He had no idea how long he'd been allowed to sleep, but Roxas was grateful for every second. He figured may have gotten too greedy though, because the first thing that truly roused him was someone having to make physical contact with him.

"Yo kid, better get moving or you'll get stuck with all the worst chores," Axel nudged him again with the tip of his boot, even though Roxas was staring at him and obviously awake. "I don't think the other two are going to feel too bad about you getting stuck with the heavy lifting."

Roxas stood to undo his cloak before dropping it in his spot; he hoped effectively saving it for himself. Axel watched with mild interest, eyes glinting with a suspicious amount of mischief. The shorter man couldn't help feel uneasy around him. Axel had the air of someone intelligent, but who played it down. "Thanks for waking me up? Could you stop kicking me every time you see me though?"

Axel only responded with a Cheshire grin before turning to lead him back up to the deck.

Roxas had satisfied one overwhelming need, being sleep, and now his body was demanding he attend to the other most prominent complaint, food. "Are we allowed to eat before work?"

"You didn't sneak a bite last night?" Axel mused.

He concentrated on following the pattern of Axel's steps, wondering if this had been the same way they'd come down. "I was in a box with cloth. I hadn't really planned to stowaway, to be honest."

The green eyed man stopped and turned with a puzzled look on his face. "You accidently stowed away?"

"Well…" Roxas shifted his weight, feeling awkward and annoyed with himself. "I didn't think the cargo was going to be loaded up so soon, and I didn't plan to fall asleep. I intended to jump out of it if it started… started moving."

Axel was staring perplexed. "Wait really? Well why-?"

"Axel," they both jolted, turning to see the Captain stepping down the stairs. "I'd rather not waste the entire day waiting for your arrival."

The slender man was quick to recover. "Geez Saix, who asked you to? We were almost there anyway."

He gave him a hard look, before turning back up the stairs. While Axel made him uneasy Saix intimidated Roxas, he had a feeling that had he been a less willing slave Captain Saix wouldn't have minded dealing with him another way.

They followed him up and onto the deck, where Hayner and Seifer were standing uncomfortably with the crew. The Captain crossed his arms, following Axel and Roxas with his eyes until they joined the group. Roxas glanced down at the other two blonds, wondering how they were doing after last night. They seemed alright with each other, though that might have been the need to create a united front against the daunting men at their backs.

"You guys lucked out that we have a handful of able bodied fugitives to do the deck swabbing for you. Anyone that had previously been assigned that task will now be helping with the rigging. Anyone who didn't stowaway on my ship go eat. Axel, you take those three and get them started on working. If you finish you can eat tonight," the Captain gave them all one last condescending look before turning and entering what Roxas suspected was the Captain's cabin.

He barely paid attention to the shuffling and guffawing crew as they left with some lightly shoving them with joking barbs. Seifer jerked away from them annoyed, obviously not the touchy feely type. Hayner made a pouting face, while Roxas was absorbed with the realization that he would not be slating his considerable hunger until after the work was done. This was pretty disappointing.

The other men were gone by the time Axel snapped his fingers in Roxas's face. "Hey, works over here."

"Lead the way," he muttered. If he got the work done early would he get food early?

Axel had left them on the deck with scrub decks, where Roxas took stock of his surroundings now that he didn't have a boot in his side (that was still sore). The dull light of a cloudy morning showed the ship was actually very large. Roxas had all of zero knowledge of ships, but he hadn't ended up on a fishing vessel by any means. These pirates meant to do some damage.

They had been assigned the back of the ship, behind the Captain's cabin. The view of the center of the ship was obscured by a large pole with a crow's nest up top.

After an hour of ignoring Seifer and Hayner's complaints, along with his own stomachs, they caught glimpses of the other members of the crew going about their day's work. He couldn't help wondering how these men had ended up doing what they were doing. He hadn't thought much on it last night, too busy scrambling to handle the situation, but what was he going to do when they actually started doing pirate things? He wasn't enthusiastic about the idea of standing by and doing nothing while the pirates hurt innocent people.

"Roxas?"

He looked up startled at Hayner's exasperated expression. "What?"

"You space out a lot, especially considering our situation," he cocked his head in puzzlement while propping himself up on his deck brush.

"Oh," Roxas could see why Hayner might think he was being insane. "I guess I'm just hungry."

"You're hungry?" Seifer sneered mockingly. "Are you an idiot?" Roxas stopped scrubbing long enough to glare at him in response. "We've been enslaved by pirates, and you're treating it like a cruise ship. I keep waiting for reality to hit you, but you seem pretty content being owned by a group of evil bloodthirsty pirates!"

"It's not that I'm happy about it…" He wasn't sure how to properly talk about his situation. "It's just that it's not as bad as what I'm getting away from."

They both gave him disbelieving stares. He scoffed. "And what was your master plan that ended in you both being caught on a pirate ship?"

They immediately looked at each other, which made Roxas not want to believe what they were about to say. "None of your business lamer," Seifer snapped instead.

"Seifer…" Hayner glowered.

"Shut up!" The turquoise eyed boy barked, pointing his brush at Hayner. "We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you anyway!"

Hayner recoiled with a guilty look. Before he knew what he was doing Roxas moved between him and the offending stick. "Knock it off. I don't know what your deal is but you're not making anything better. Maybe you should just get back to work."

Seifer lowered the broom handle and instead darted forward to grab Roxas's shirt, bunching the material and pushing him back against the mast. "How about you stay out of it?! It's none of your business!"

Roxas just stared at him, annoyed as he tried to ease the taller man's grip. Hayner immediately tried to pull him off, snatching his raised fist in an effort to keep him from decking his hostage. "Come on Seifer, chill! Like I said last night this works just as well as anything!" Seifer disregarded his ally and pulled Roxas closer. He genuinely struggled against his grip now, regretting allowing the other boy to get such a good hold on him. He hadn't thought he'd do anything but blow hot air in his need to vent. Hayner shoved his arm into the angry man's neck, trying to push him back. "Come off Seifer!"

With a grunt of annoyance the tall boy pushed the other two away in one powerful gesture, making them stumble. "Just leave me alone and get back to work."

Hayner and Roxas stared at him as he irritably scrubbed at the deck again, determinedly ignoring them. After a moment they went back to work, wary of his sudden mood. Roxas could see some of the crew had been staring with interest, but when the show was over they'd returned to their work. Would they have stopped the other boy from throwing him overboard? Probably not. He'd have to be more careful not to let Seifer lay hands on him again, as he was more physically powerful than he'd first guessed.

Hayner's interference had been welcome though. He was grateful that at least one of them didn't want to turn his face to mincemeat.

Finally the deck was scrubbed from front to back. It took pretty much all day. Roxas dove into the rations they gave him like he'd never tasted anything better. The biscuits and pork were tough, but he fought down every crumb.

Hayner and Seifer were not much pickier, nor was the crew as far as he could tell. After that he was ready to sit down in his spot downstairs and try to nurse his aching muscles, but he figured that wasn't going to happen when Axel plopped down next to them while they were eating. "I got a fun surprise for you guys."

Roxas doubted that, but ignored him as best he could. Hayner groaned. "Not more chores."

Axel wagged a finger at him. "Nope, something better, let's go."

"Why were you assigned to babysit us?" Seifer demanded. "Every time I turn around it's your face."

The red head stood up, expecting them to follow as he explained. "It's one of my many fun duties as first mate, now get moving."

He led them to the center of the deck, where the crew had gathered in a circle. Captain Saix was there with another man whispering in his ear. He stood out from the other crew because he was so clean, and had an air of importance about him that set him apart. He nodded at Axel when they slipped to the front.

After a minute the Captain made a gesture to silence them and picked out two of the crew. They entered the center of the ring and drew the cutlasses at their belt. Roxas stiffened at the same time that Seifer and Hayner did when the blades clashed together. Axel laughed as the shorter boy took a step back. "Exciting isn't it?"

He suddenly didn't feel as in control as he previously had. The two men danced around each other, trading blows as they try to break through each other's defenses. Seifer cussed as one finally disarmed the other, the blade sliding across the ring. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's to keep our skills sharp," Axel offered as way of explanation. "The Captain wants the crew to be ready for battle, so we spar."

Roxas lowered his head, feeling his heart speed up. He wanted no part of this. Seifer and Hayner seemed a lot more interested. Seifer crossed his arms with a snort. "Hmph, they better be good sailors if that's the best they can do."

Axel raised an eyebrow as Saix glanced their way. Had he heard him over the goading of the crowd? He pointed to Seifer. He looked staggered as Axel made a surprised sound. "I didn't think he was going to pick any of you to be honest."

"Seifer," Hayner's voice held a tint of warning, but the other boy seemed excited, almost happy for the first time since Roxas had met him.

"Do I have to fight him with my bare hands?" He asked confidently as he strode into the ring to fight the other man Saix pointed to.

"Someone, give him a blade," the Captain ordered.

The man that had been whispering with Captain Saix was the first to surrender his weapon, smiling amused as Seifer took it by the handle and swung it experimentally. Roxas wondered if Axel would notice him try to slip away to the back. Unfortunately it seemed the other man was perfectly content to stick by his assigned brood.

Meanwhile Seifer's opponent had been chosen, a middle aged man with some intimidating looking muscles. The blond seemed confident as he pointed the blade at him, the end wobbling in a lazy way as the youth taunted his opponent. "Come on."

The man gave him an incredulous look before sneering. "Getting carried away kid." He assessed Seifer's stance, then lunged at him, their blades ricocheting off each other while Seifer laughed.

He blocked him three times, "Quit playing around and fight."

The man grew visibly agitated at Seifer's insults. "You better watch your mouth or I'll really try to hurt you."

He put the full force of his might behind a swing, which Seifer angled to slide off his blade so he could slide around and spin, smashing his hand guard into the man's hand, effectively disarming him.

The whole area went quiet as the man's cutlass spun across the floor of the deck. Seifer laughed. "You lose."

Roxas realized he had been so focused on watching the fight he hadn't moved or looked at everyone else. Saix looked pleased, as did his friend with the blond hair and goatee. A sideways glance at Hayner showed that he was more displeased than amazed. Was Hayner also a good fighter? He quickly looked at Axel, who might have had the scariest expression, one of eagerness. It was clear to Roxas that Axel wanted to fight Seifer. He definitely wanted no part in these battles.

"Anyone else want a piece of me?" Seifer seemed to be having a good time.

"I'll take you up on that," Axel stepped forward fervently. "Can't be letting these stowaways get uppity now just because they know how to hold a blade."

"How unusually proactive of you," Saix mused, but didn't seem interested in stopping him.

Axel held out his hands to either side of him, after a moment light appeared around his fingers. With a wicked grin he clenched his hands around two giant chakrams, flames licking at the magically summoned items that the slender man twirled expertly in his hands.

Roxas couldn't believe his eyes. He never would have imagined that Axel had such an amazing power. It was very rare.

Hayner gasped, with his eyes wide in wonderment. Many of the crew had a similar reaction. Only Saix and his friend had zero surprise. Seifer hesitated. "Are you kidding me?"

"Don't back down now," Axel goaded, holding the weapons loosely as they swayed at his touch. Roxas was torn as Seifer quickly recovered. He wanted to see the fight, but he wanted to move from the front of the line of men. With Axel's attention elsewhere he slid backwards between the crew, out of Saix's sight, but still with a moderate view of the fight.

The confident blond had regained his cool and was back in the same stance he'd used against the previous opponent. Axel had his back to Roxas, but by the serious look on Seifer's face made him think the tall man had the same semi-creepy expression aimed at his adversary.

Axel moved fast, almost impossibly fast. Seifer managed to block the initial blow, but the redhead had the advantage of having seen the first fight. He pulled his body back and kicked his opponent in his chest. Before the turquoise eyed boy could regain his balance Axel had followed on the attack and jammed his chakram up to meet Seifer's counter blow. The other chakram was met halfway by Seifer's fist over his hand, blocking him from jamming it into his arm. Axel chuckled, straining to overpower him. Seifer seemed to be just as excited with the fight. "Isn't this romantic?"

Axel was startled at the saying as the more muscled boy took the opportunity to shove him away. Having caught him off guard Seifer wasn't about to give Axel another chance to take advantage of his speed. He followed up with several strong blows, where it seemed like he was hoping to use his strength to knock the chakrams from their wielder's hands. Axel was stronger than he looked, absorbing the blows before moving to counterattack.

Roxas was impressed with the skill of the two fighters. Seifer was the less practiced, but he had good enough instincts to keep Axel from a straight forward victory. Axel was impossibly fast, with manic and aggressive moves that sent a chill up his spine. Captain Saix and friend both paid close attention to the fight, and Hayner was growing concerned as his friend was beginning to lose ground.

After a few more blows were exchanged Axel made his move, ducking underneath one of Seifer's blows to jam his body into the other's chest. The shorter man grunted as the wind was knocked out of him, before the redhead used his chakram to pin his adversaries right arm to the mast, raising the other to his throat. Seifer cursed as the crowd went crazy with excitement.

Axel released the angry man from his capture, looking pleased. Hayner rushed over to his friend but was immediately disregarded. While Seifer rubbed his wrists, annoyed and tired but unharmed, the Captain made his gesture for silence, dismissing them for the night. As soon as the men dispersed Axel bounded up to Roxas. "So what do you think?"

He cocked his head, bemused. "I think you're a talented fighter."

The redhead sighed. "I meant about these," he dangled his chakrams in front of Roxas. "You're not surprised?"

"I am," he assured as Hayner came up to him. "Not many people-"

"Come on Roxas," the honey blond grabbed his arm and tugged him away from the tall fighter. "Help me set up my hammock." He allowed himself to be taken, not really wanting to continue the conversation with Axel anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: In which we probably spend way too much time with Axel, and also where the trigger warnings might start to come into effect._

 _Thank you all so much for reading this far. i cherish every comment, favorite, follow, kudo, and even page view. The chapter is pretty long because otherwise it would be too short, hopefully you won't mind. And of course thanks to my partner-in-crime for editing._

 _Disclaimer about not owning Kingdom Hearts._

 **Chapter 3: Learning Experiences**

After everyone had fallen asleep Roxas slipped back up to the deck. It was unnerving to travel the ship in the dark, but he managed to find his way back up. The cool night wind stung his skin, but it was nice to breathe air that wasn't being shared with twenty other men. It was almost completely abandoned, except for a couple of guards at the bow of the ship. Roxas made his way to the back, picking up one of the cutlasses along the way. He made sure he couldn't be seen by the guards before swinging the sword experimentally.

He was still tired and sore from the day, but he needed to train. The cutlass was a strange weight in his hand, but after a short while he began to feel comfortable with it. He made himself go through the exercises, imagining Seifer as his opponent. He did them again with an imaginary Axel, trying to move fast to match the man's speed. Were there any other crazy good fighters on this boat? He couldn't help thinking something was off about this whole ship.

After he finished he snuck back down to the rooms and went to sleep.

The next day Seifer, Hayner, and Roxas were all allowed to eat breakfast. If it weren't for Axel hovering around it would feel like they were any member of the crew.

"What were you two up to anyway?" The first mate prodded, continuing his quest to prompt Seifer to murder him. "Hoping to see new worlds?"

"How about you mind your own beeswax," Seifer muttered, doing his best to suppress his bloodlust as Axel leaned over him to watch him eat.

Roxas was relieved to have the attentive man's attention elsewhere. Since fighting the angry young man Axel seemed really interested in finding out more about him. He could have warned him how guarded the other two were, well all three of them really, but it was really amusing to see how close Axel could push Seifer to the edge of violence. "C'mon Seifer, we can be friends. Where'd you learn to fight anyway?"

"How long before the vein in Seifer's forehead pops?" Hayner leaned over to whisper.

"Marginal to how close Axel gets to his food," Roxas whispered back.

"All three of you are idiots," the man in question barked, slamming his tray on the table. "You all piss me off more with every moronic word out of your mouths. Do me a favor and can it!"

He stormed off, leaving his half eaten breakfast to be claimed. Axel watched him go, eyes glinting. "That was fun, though not very informative. Hayner?"

The blond shoved the last of Seifer's bacon in his mouth. "Mmrff."

"Equally as enlightening."

Roxas jumped out of his seat before he turned his green eyes on him. "Better get to work."

The man with the platinum blond hair and matching goatee that had been with Captain Saix the night before was waiting for them on deck. "Good morning Axel."

"Yo Luxord," was the lazy reply. "See an angry blond with a scar on his nose head by here?"

"Yes, he's in the crow's nest keeping lookout for the day. Before you head off I'm to tell you that Saix wants him to go work in the galley for the day," the man pointed to Hayner. "And you to inspect the riggings, and teach that one how to do it," this time his ringed finger pointed Roxas's way.

Axel scratched the back of his head. "He said that huh? Why do I always get stuck with the boring jobs? Well, at least I have my new friend to help me out, right Roxas?"

The whole day with Axel? That sounded exhausting.

"Roxas?"

"Right."

"Awesome, follow me, see ya Luxord," Axel waved at the man and wandered off, not looking to see if Roxas was following him. "Let's go pretend to do what Saix wants."

They left the unamused man and traveled over to the riggings, where Axel knelt down and gestured for Roxas to follow suit. Reluctantly he crouched by the redhead, his knees bumping his as he looked at the rope that helped direct the sails. "So," Axel mused, bored, tracing the rope with his fingers. "See how the rope is starting to fray here. We'll need to change it."

"It's not very damaged," Roxas pointed out.

The first mate plopped down on the ground, leaning forward between his long legs to mess with the fastener. "These ropes are really important for the ship to be as fast as it can. See, if one snaps while we're chasing, or being chased, we might not have enough speed to accomplish our goals."

"What are those goals?" He watched what the other man was doing carefully, trying to memorize where each piece fit.

"Standard goals, you know, treasure and loot," Axel finished the first part, grabbing more rope from nearby after untangling it. He moved Roxas so that he was holding a piece in place. "What about you? What are your goals?"

"I don't have any anymore," the blue eyed boy said. "I've been enslaved, remember?"

"I never met such a difficult group of stowaways."

"Where is this ship going anyways?" He changed the subject.

Axel laughed suddenly. "You really did end up on here by accident? You have some crappy luck. As for destination I think our enigmatic Captain is headed to Port Royal."

"Oh," he didn't know that place.

"So what about the other two, do you know what their goals are?"

"No," Roxas's hands were starting to cramp from holding the piece so tight. "Why do you care?"

He finished fixing the rope and led Roxas to the next section that needed inspecting. "That's my job. Or at least that's what Saix wants me to do. You know, that and it's pretty fun to bug you guys."

"Seifer doesn't like it," the blond traced the next rope. He could only reach so far up, as the rope was attached halfway up the pole.

"That's icing on the cake. So, looks like we'll have to climb up, especially since you're so short," Axel commented, looking up the length of it.

"I'm not short," he balked. "You're just really tall."

"And my back hurts from supporting my lofty muscled body, must be old age. Climb up for me?" He pretended to nurse sore muscles, leaning forward in imaginary pain.

Roxas looked dubiously at the mast. "Thanks a lot." He grabbed onto the netting, hoisting himself up. "This doesn't seem safe."

"I don't recommend falling," was his helpful reply.

He scaled up the mast beside the rope, inspecting it the way he'd seen Axel do it. From the safety of the ground the lazy first mate directed him to other areas, talking him through the precautions they took for various parts of the ship. Roxas didn't really mind doing this work, except for the cold wind that pulled at his clothes and numbed his skin.

Seeing the water lap at the outside of the ship was surreal, and nothing but ocean as far as he could see. He'd felt fine with them saying he was enslaved when he first came onboard, but now he felt less confident in it all. Part of him had felt like he could just get away once the ship docked, but he hadn't considered the in between time. If it had just been long work hours, like he'd first thought, it would have been fine. Instead there were the nightly fights, and his fellow stowaways and Axel's attention. He had to constantly be on guard.

He pushed the thoughts away, preferring not to dwell on it. He'd just have to deal with it. He finished his task and climbed back down, landing nimbly besides Axel, who had recovered from his imaginary ailment. "You're pretty agile Roxas, not bad. We make a good team."

"I'm just glad you don't step on me every time you see me anymore," was his dry reply.

Axel smirked. "The day is young, let's go."

It took them the better part of the day to finish. Roxas learned a lot about how the ship was maintained, surprised how meticulous a ship full of pirates were. Having the better ship was how pirates stayed in business he guessed. He really hoped that they didn't come across any other ships on the way to Port Royal though.

That night they did the sparing circle again, which Roxas made sure to duck away from. Instead he snuck alone onto the deck again later that night, practicing in the dark. His new nightly ritual was one of the more dangerous things he was doing, but he had no other way of training.

The next few days were all the same. They would wake up, eat, do chores, eat, spar, and then sleep. Roxas, Hayner, and Seifer all began to get used to the ritual. They began to get to know the other crew members, except for the Captain, who only appeared to watch the sparring and to relay orders. Axel began to spend less time around them and more time reporting to Saix. He was the only one who seemed to get away with a less formal approach to him.

A while into their voyage Roxas was feeling pretty confident with his skills with the cutlass. The weight no longer threw him off like it used to, each swing more smooth than before.

"Impressive."

Roxas whirled, startled to see Axel leaning against the railing. The red head clapped slowly, smiling in a way that chilled him.

"I…" Fuck.

He tightened his grip on the handle of the blade. How long had he been there?

"I kind of got the impression you didn't want to participate in our little matches because you weren't good," Axel pushed off of the rail, walking slowly towards Roxas.

The blond stepped back automatically, heart racing at the rush of adrenaline. "I'm not really," he forced out. There was a strange glint in Axel's eyes that he didn't like. "No one said I couldn't practice."

His hands lifted away from his sides, the unearthly flames licking at his hands as his chakrams manifested. Roxas barely had time to lift his blade to block the first attack.

Axel moved with a swiftness Roxas had never seen, only instinct allowed him to block his chakrams. The weapons strained as Axel pushed against them for a minute, before jumping back. "Wait a sec Axel, I don't want to fight!"

His plea was ignored, the tall man showing his response by taking a mean swipe at him with his weapon, the sharp items giving a spark of friction as they slid off. Roxas moved back to give himself room to counter the barrage of strikes that suddenly came his way. The redhead didn't let up, relentlessly attempting to break through the blonde's defense. The repeated clash of their weapons sounded in the mostly empty air, and Roxas felt a real fear of anyone else discovering them.

He didn't actually want to fight Axel at all. He had begun to like the strange man harassing Seifer, Hayner, and himself. But he didn't want to know what it would feel like to be cut by the frightening weapons he wielded either.

There was no way he could stay completely on the defense and continue to fend off Axel, he'd have to attack back. He shifted his weight and dodged to the side, letting Axel strike the air as he shoved his shoulder into the taller man's abdomen with all his might. Axel grunted in surprise, trying to back off to recover, but Roxas didn't give him the chance. He took the guard of the cutlass and slammed it into Axel's hand as hard as he could. His opponent cried out in pain, dropping the chakram from his right hand. With an angry slash he used his other chakram to force Roxas back to defense. "Get back!"

The blond did, rolling to his left and using the blade of his cutlass to slide the chakram halfway towards the center of the ship. Axel was flexing his hand, unbroken to Roxas's disappointment. "You're a lot better than you let on."

"Fine," he growled. "Can we stop fighting now?"

"Haha, so you do have a temper! I was beginning to think you were unshakable," the other man twirled his weapon. "But you haven't won yet."

Roxas crouched into a protective stance, gritting his teeth. He doubted this would end well for him, even if he won the fight Axel would still report his suspicious activity to Saix, and he couldn't kill him to stop him, even if he wanted to.

Axel darted towards him again, this time he faked him out and dashed around to Roxas's back. The blond cried in pain as the prong of his chakram sliced his left shoulder from behind. He bit off his scream, as he swung his sword around, trying to force Axel away again. He could feel this blazing warmth on his back, the sharp and angry pain shooting through his whole body. His green-eyed foe caught his blade with his weapon, laughing as they tried to force each other to lose balance. "Give up?"

"Yeah right," Roxas snapped. He pushed him away, following with his blade. He just needed to get the other chakram away and Axel would be defeated. He dodged around the wild counterattack and attempted to knock him off balance. The other deftly blocked, but missed his attempt to hit Roxas as he'd already moved around him once more. They're weapons met again, Axel breathing heavy as he tried to chuckle. "I think we need to heat things up."

Roxas didn't agree, muscles straining under Axel's strength pressing down on him. He tightened his grip on the sword as flames started to appear around the chakrams. In a flash the otherworldly weapons tore through his blade before he could do anything to stop it. The steel gave way like butter.

Roxas was stunned as the top half of the cutlass fell to the ground, staring for a moment at the partial sword left in his hands. He looked up over Axel's chakram, squared at his throat, to see him smiling wickedly at him. "I guess I win."

He glared at Axel defiantly, heart beating wildly in his chest. "Congratulations."

The redhead cocked his head, chest rising with his breath, but hand steady as he leveled his weapon. "How's your shoulder?"

"It… hurts," Roxas frowned, reaching up automatically to grab his shoulder. What was he playing at?

"So is this all you were hiding?"

In a flash Axel was behind him, chakram still at his throat as he pulled Roxas back into his chest. Another figure had appeared from the darkness, of course being Saix. A crew member, probably a night watchman, was standing off to the side. Of course someone had noticed their battle. They had managed to put on quite a show by the end he was sure.

The blue haired captain looked annoyed. "Are you holding him hostage Axel?"

The blond had wondered the same thing himself, but he didn't want to have another hole in his body just yet. Still it was doubtful Axel was in any trouble, and if he was Saix was very unlikely to care if Axel sliced through his throat. The green eyed man held Roxas tighter to him, making the shorter boy wince in pain at the pressure on his wound. "That's right Saix, don't make any wrong moves or you'll have one less stowaway." He snorted. "I'm making sure Roxas doesn't do anything stupid."

He hadn't planned on it, at least anything stupider than getting in a fight with the first mate of a pirate ship he was enslaved on.

Saix gazed up at the sky. "I was hoping that you were hiding something more interesting than a bit of skill with a weapon."

"Sorry to disappoint," he replied tartly, despite Axel's grip around his chest constricting.

The captain looked away from the moon to give the young man a cold stare. "You'd do well to remember your place."

Roxas averted his eyes, biting his tongue. He didn't have any desire to make his situation worse, and he didn't want to be pushed any further. He knew that everything was rapidly going downhill, and it made him angry, at himself, and Axel for ruining his run of good luck. If he wasn't careful though, he'd end up dead or worse. He was an idiot as it was.

Axel sighed. "Did you need something Saix, because I'm kind of in the middle of something?"

"You'd do well to remember your place too Axel," the Captain glared. The crewman looked uncomfortable in the background as the two exchanged dark looks.

"If you don't have any need for him anymore…" He snapped back. "We were talking."

Saix stared for a long moment at his first mate. "I don't. In the morning come speak with me."

The redhead's voice softened. "I will report tomorrow."

Roxas wasn't sure what kind of weird power struggle he'd just been pulled into, but if their attention was on each other and not on him that was probably fine. It didn't seem like he'd be murdered as things were anyway. At least not until Saix figured out if he was going to kill Axel first.

The captain gave one last look at the moon before sweeping away, his stride tense and angry, at least more than usual. After he'd been out of their sight for a minute Axel huffed. "Good he's gone, let's go."

"Go where?" Roxas asked surprised as Axel started moving him, placing his remaining chakram against the blue eyed boy's chest.

They walked over to the one Roxas had managed to disarm. "Pick that up for me."

He crouched slowly to grab the weapon, Axel moving with him so that he was still in control of him, his body draped over Roxas's back. He was suddenly very aware of how hot Axel was. His body temperature was twice what his was, despite the cold dampness of the deck. Roxas slid his fingers around the chakram's outer ring, the metal actually cool to the touch. It was heavier than he thought it would be. The magical item was so strange. He couldn't imagine why Axel chose to wield such an unconventional weapon versus something easier. Then again he'd just been maimed and defeated by it so who was he to judge.

When Roxas straightened himself Axel took him over to the captain's cabin. He hesitated, not wanting to meet the livid scarred man again, but his capture kept moving him forward. Roxas was starting to feel a bit sick from the adrenaline and fear in his body, more than the cold causing him to shiver. With no other options he reluctantly walked through the doors of the cabin, mind racing at the other man's intentions.

The doorway didn't lead straight into Saix's room as he'd originally assumed it did. Instead it was another staircase leading to a hallway with several rooms. He could see at the end of the hall was a more elaborate door, probably where the captain had stormed off to. Axel veered immediately to the right, entering the very first door in the aisle.

"This is my room," Axel explained as he shut the door behind him, the sound causing Roxas to jump. "Move this way."

The room was large and surprisingly barren. The bed, being the most prominent thing in the room, was just a crumpled mess of fabric in the corner. "It's cozy," the prisoner mumbled, wanting to hear something besides the waves echo in the enclosed space.

"Yeah," his laugh was a low rumble that reverberated against Roxas's back. "I guess I don't collect knick knacks or anything." It was hard for the blond to think how easy their conversation had been just that morning. "But it's functional."

"Debatable," he held up his chakram. "Want this?"

The man behind him was silent for a minute as they stood in the room, Axel's weapon a heavy pressure against him as its twin was held aloft. "No," he breathed. He lowered the chakram leveled at Roxas, the magical items disappearing in flames. There was a flash of heat, but they didn't burn his hands as the weapons vanished. He couldn't believe that same fire had melted the cutlass in half a few minutes ago.

Roxas spun around and tried to back away, but Axel snatched his wrists. "They can come back just as fast as I can get rid of them."

"What do you want?!" Roxas recoiled as he lifted his left arm, the pain from his wound flaring up. "Ah, dammit Axel!" The redhead stepped into him, forcing him back until he was against the wall. He leaned forward, face getting closer as if he planned to kiss him. The shorter man panicked. "Wait, stop!"

"You're getting blood on my wall," the green eyed man let go of his wrists abruptly.

The sudden jerking movements hurt. Roxas gripped his shoulder in agony, as if the waves of pain couldn't get past his fingers if he held it with enough pressure. "What the hell Axel?"

His fingertips grazed the warm, sticky blood from his injury, the coppery smell discernable despite the strong saltiness of the sea air.

Axel sighed. "Let me look at it." He went to grab at Roxas's shirt, but he shrank back and glared at him. With a show of annoyance he gripped his arm and forced him over to the bed.

The blond made a small noise of pain, unable to completely control how he fell onto the blanket. Axel pulled at the collar of his shirt to try to look at it, but the injury was too low. "Hold still, you'll make it worse and get blood on my blanket."

"One could argue that it would be your fault," Roxas snapped.

The redhead smirked. "I actually do like your temper."

Hands tugged at the buttons on his top. "Can't you leave it alone?!"

"Will you just shut up," he laughed, moving Roxas on his side as if he wasn't resisting. The blond hissed through his teeth at the sensation of Axel's fingers tracing the wound. "I got you pretty good."

"Yeah thanks for that," Roxas muttered. "Can you get off me now?"

"Don't move," he said, climbing off of the blond. "Or I'll restrain you again."

He sighed, sitting up to watch Axel rummage through some drawers. "I don't have any idea what you're thinking."

"You don't?" He mused, pulling out items.

Having the first mate suddenly not on top of him made him feel cold, but he breathed easier with the distance between them. He'd never been handled so aggressively. "Why force me here?" The question fell out of him. "Why fight me? You don't seem to want to kill me."

"I don't," he carried his prizes over to the bed, tossing it next to Roxas unceremoniously. "Don't want to kill you anyways… right now." Axel grabbed one of the bottles, taking a swing of what was obviously not medicine. "Let's get you patched up."

"I'm not confident in your medical knowledge," Roxas closed his eyes as he pulled of his shirt.

"You're right to be suspicious," the redhead sniggered. "But I know enough. I treat myself all the time."

The blond inhaled sharply as cool alcohol was poured over his injury. He gritted his teeth as the burn started. "Not comforting."

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Axel started cleaning the wound.

"It was something I had to learn while I was growing up," Roxas confessed, trying to ignore the pain. "What about you?"

The green eyed fighter starting bandaging his shoulder, "Saix and I learned together, before we went about being pirates." Axel finished his project. "There, cured."

He felt the bandage, wincing at the sting. "Doesn't even hur…" Suddenly he was leaning back on the bed, staring up at Axel's face, framed by a waterfall of spiky hair. "The hell?!"

"You asked me why I brought you here," Axel reminded him. Did he really want to know anymore? "I've wondered about you since I found you. I thought you were fucking crazy."

"I am," Roxas guaranteed, unable to look at him in his eyes, instead staring determinedly at his shoulder. Could he see his heart beating? He felt dizzy and too hot, and the man on top of him was making it hard to breath. "Can I go now?" Please say yes.

"But I like talking to you," he ignored him again, continuing as if he hadn't heard him. "And it was fun to fight you. It makes me want you." His voice got low as his face dipped closer. The blond closed his eyes tight, breath hitching. "When you were told you were a slave you didn't hesitate, did the thought really never cross your mind that you might end up in a situation like this?"

"It didn't," he'd been so worried about the thousands of other things happening, and no one had made a move to touch him before now. He clenched his fist at the thought. Dammit.

Axel frowned, watching him for a moment. He sighed and leaned in close, almost bridging the gap between them. Roxas instantly placed his hands on Axel's shoulders. "W… wait, don't!" His mind raced, fear making him stupid. He hadn't expected to be in this kind of situation at all, he had no plan. Roxas couldn't just fight his way out of this.

"I'm not going to idiot," the redhead barked, huffing in frustration. The blue eyed boy turned to look at him. "Just hold still."

He was afraid his heart was going to deafen him when Axel's lips pressed against his. The sensation from the kiss tightened every muscle in his body. His skin warmed from the contact. His nails dug slightly into the first mates shoulders as he broke contact, taking short rapid breathes to appease his eager lungs. The salty taste of another human lingered on his tongue.

With an exasperated sigh the tall man stood up, unpinning Roxas. The blond stared up confused and relieved as he ruffled the hair at the nape of his neck. "You can go now I guess, since you're all patched up and I can't do anything else."

He was on his feet in an instant, his shirt scrunched tight in his fist. He had bolted towards the door before he had even had the conscious thought to go there. He hesitated, looking at Axel confused. "Why?"

Darkened eyes met his as the owner placed his hands on his hips. "Maybe I had intended to do more to you," Axel acknowledged, grinning impishly. "But I couldn't."

"Maybe you're a liar," Roxas countered. "Maybe this is more head games you and the Captain are playing for no reason."

"Oh I am a liar," he chortled. "You should get that memorized."

The injured blond didn't know how to respond to that, so he left, feeling thankful as the door shut firmly behind him. What had just happened?


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Roxas makes poor life decisions, but that's nothing new._  
 _I can't tell you how grateful I am for everyone's kind comments on my story. And thanks to my partner-in-crime for editing as usual._  
 _Disclaimer cause I still haven't acquired Kingdom Hearts._

 **Chapter 4: Poor Decisions**

Hayner found Roxas hiding in the crow's nest later that morning. He was hugging his knees and staring down at the ocean, but his eyes shot over to him when his head popped through the hole. "Found you."

"You won the prize of a condescending look, congrats."

"Lucky me, found Mr. Sunshine," he crawled the rest of the way up unperturbed. His spiked pale hair gave way to the breeze as he followed the other stowaways gaze out to sea. "This chore doesn't seem so bad."

Roxas agreed. "Are you supposed to be doing this too?"

Hayner sat down next to him, leaning back against the mast as he pulled one knee up to his chest. "Nope, but Axel told me to wait here until he gets done talking to the Captain."

"Oh," so much for avoiding him all day.

"Are you alright? You didn't come to breakfast."

Forget breakfast, Roxas hadn't gone to sleep all night. He could feel the headache that was evidence of that fact, as well as the aching in his eyes. "I'm fine," was his instinctive response. When the other man didn't respond he hid his face in his knees. "Last night…" Roxas was stressed, and exhausted with being on guard. His thoughts had swirled through his mind all evening, and the idea of opening up, just a little, to his fellow prisoner was comforting enough to try. "I ended up fighting Axel."

"Woah! Wait really!?" Hayner leaned over, with his eyes wide as he looked the blue eyed youth up and down. "Hey you're hurt!"

His hand clasped automatically over the shoulder, feeling the torn shirt and bandages underneath. "Oh yeah, don't worry, I'm alright."

"What happened?" He looked doubtfully at the injury, as if he suspected Roxas was lying about how bad it was. Well, the truth was he thought it probably was fine, but he had no idea himself. He wasn't a doctor after all.

"When he showed us the group fights, I started practicing with the cutlass by myself at night," Roxas confessed.

"Why?"

"I wanted to be able to fight," he turned to look at Hayner now, seeing surprise, and worry. "I'd never used a cutlass, and I wanted to be able to use one effectively if I needed to."

"Man," Hayner inclined back, staring ahead as he absorbed it. "That's pretty gutsy." He smiled, causing a reflexive smile from Roxas in return.

"Axel caught me last night, and he just attacked."

"He really is psycho," the honey blond whistled. "But man, that's pretty messed up. So… did you win?"

A laugh escaped him before he could stop it. "No, his fire melted through my blade."

"That's cheating," Hayner shook his head. "Using magic I mean. Still, it is pretty amazing he can do that."

"Yes," it still was amazing.

"I bet that's why he has to see the Captain. He's getting in trouble for almost setting fire to the ship, and for destroying our supplies."

Not quite, but it was an amusing thought.

"You know," Hayner sighed wearily. "I kind of wish you'd won." Roxas didn't know how differently the night would have gone if he had, but there was a decent chance he might have been killed. "It's hard to keep in mind sometimes, but Axel is a bloodthirsty pirate, just like the rest of them."

He was surprised at the venomous tone Hayner took. "Yeah, I guess so. He's pretty friendly most of the time." Too friendly.

"I know you came here by accident," his fist clamped tight in anger. "These pirates are the worst kind though. I don't know if it was this specific ship, but…" Roxas held his breath, surprised at the sudden divulging. "Listen. You know Seifer and I, well we're not exactly best friends. Truth is we used to be enemies. We grew up in the same town, and me and… and my friends would get into fights with his gang."

"Psh," the injured man rolled his eyes. "It's not that hard to imagine Seifer picking fights."

"I know right," he slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a worn photo, handing it over to Roxas. It was a picture of Hayner with two other people, a boy and a girl. "That's Olette, and my friend Pence. If I hadn't been busy fighting with Seifer we might have been able to stop what happened to our friends."

He handed the photo back, watching brown eyes rove over the photograph. After a moment he placed a hand on Hayner's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "Don't be so hard on yourself, I knew Seifer for five seconds before he wanted to punch my face in."

A reluctant smile flittered across his features. It disappeared a moment later. "Pirates attacked, and took them; took Seifer's friends too. They made it so no one else was grabbed, but they were gone by the time Seifer and I got back."

"No," Roxas couldn't believe it. "And these pirates took your friends?"

"I think so, since the ship matches the description some of the people in town gave us. We followed them to the same town I assume you docked at, and snuck aboard. If Olette and Pence are out there, then I'm going to find them," he gently put the photo away, body shaking with concealed rage. "And I'm going to make the people that kidnapped them pay."

A short while later Axel's spiked hair appeared as he came up the ladder of the crow's nest. Roxas did his best to be invisible as the green eyed man summoned his new friend down to learn about the ship. It didn't stop Axel from giving him a friendly, "good morning."

Roxas flipped him off in response.

Seifer was very excited for that night's fights, because Hayner had finally agreed to join in. Roxas had unhappily planted himself on the rail, watching as the other men chatted about who was better. His desire to abscond to the lower floors was ignored, both of the other stowaways wanting him to stay and watch the matches. Making it worse was Axel leaning next to him, insisting on being close, probably to prevent the blond from fleeing when the other two were fighting.

The first bout was Hayner versus Seifer. He couldn't help be impressed with their technique, watching their blows exchanged with a little too much vigor as the crowd roared. They had good instincts, and a feral style that suggested they were self-taught. After his fight with Axel though, he wasn't surprised that Seifer lost to him. He'd been holding back.

The redhead in question had not spoken to him again all day, even at dinner. So when he cleared his throat and said his name it was disquieting, especially since Roxas was already on edge. He looked over, almost eye to eye with him, despite sitting on the railing.

"About what happened the other night," Axel stared at the battle, as if determined not to make eye contact with him. "I'm sorry."

He felt his stomach constrict. "Sorry for trying to attack me?"

His eyes flashed over to him for a second, before darting back to the battle. "Yes. I… I got carried away."

"No shit."

Hayner darted under Seifer's attack to get in close, forced back before he could take advantage of it. The pair seemed pretty evenly matched. You could feel the palpable tension between them.

"If I promise not to 'attack' you again," Axel turned to smirk at him. "Will you quit flipping me off?"

"I only did that once… or thrice," Roxas murmured, watching Seifer disarm Hayner at last. He was a little too happy about the victory. "Not that you deserve less."

"Fair enough," the tall pirate sighed, looking annoyed at the grandstanding blond. As if somehow the obnoxious behavior was connected to Roxas's stand-offish manners. "I like it better when we're friends though."

The blue-eyed boy hesitated. "I don't trust you."

"You probably shouldn't."

"I'll stop flipping you off."

"Thank you," Axel smiled. "How is your shou-" He looked up, eyes dilating in surprise. "What the hell?"

Roxas quickly followed his eye line to see Saix pointing at him. With a violent start he realized he'd been chosen to fight. His heart hammered to life as he shook his head. Saix scowled. "You refuse to fight?"

"I-" He looked over at the startled Seifer, who was looking confused between them. "I don't like to fight."

"Yet you feel no qualm about fighting my first mate in the night?" Saix glared down his nose at him.

"Saix," Axel started. The blue haired man glared at him, forcing a correction. "Captain… I was the one who goaded him to fight."

"If that's what it takes," the captain gestured at Seifer. "Go attack him, now."

The turquoise eyed man in question faltered, unsure between them. Roxas stiffened, starting to climb up on the rail. "Wait, I don't even have-"

"Now!" Saix ordered again.

Seifer dashed toward him. Axel jumped back as he swung, the blow forcing Roxas to repel himself off the rail towards the deck. "I don't have a sword!" He could hear the sound of the blade slicing the air.

The offensive blond wavered again, but Saix gestured for him to keep going. Suddenly Roxas was desperately dodging around Seifer's swings as the sound of the crew guffawing and yelling rose to a fever pitch in the background. He jumped back, wincing in pain as the blade managed to slice a thin line across his chest before he could properly dodge. Seifer was relentless, so there was no choice but for him to defend himself.

With growing anger he decided to go on the offense. With a finite dodge he dropped to the deck and kicked Seifer's legs out from under him, knocking the taller man on his back. He rolled away, staying low as the other recovered. "Roxas!" Hayner slid his blade over to him, allowing him to snatch it up just in time to block the next blow.

He watched the surprise on his opponents face as he processed that Roxas was actually going to give him a run for his money. Disregarding the pain in his shoulder he strained against the other boy's pressure on his borrowed sword. Faster than Seifer could process the blue eyed blond had overpowered him, forcing his blade to the ground. He stepped into his staggered foe, jamming his hilt into his hands at the same time kicking him as hard as he could in the shins.

The crew was silent as Roxas leveled his blade at Seifer. "You were pretty quick to attack me. Did you forget you weren't supposed to actually kill anyone during these little matches?"

"You aren't really hurt," the blond laughed, eyes dilated. "And it seems like you really have been holding back."

"Seems like you haven't," Roxas snarled back.

His response to that was an angry frontal swing, which Roxas brought his blade up to block. "If Captain Saix is so interested in my skills-" He threw off Seifer's attack, knocking him back with a kick. He pointed the tip of his cutlass at the unimpressed captain in question. "He should fight me himself."

The crew went crazy as Roxas exchanged glares with the blue haired man. Axel was by his side in an instant as Seifer protested. "Hey you're fighting me right now."

Roxas resisted the urge to throw him a condescending look. Seifer was a skilled fighter, but he wasn't a match for him. Still he needed to control his temper better, since he was about to get himself thrown off the plank. Saix was obviously out to get him now though, sicking Seifer on him. What was he supposed to do about that? If the captain had some sort of need to see him beaten up, he could do it himself. Of course, he had a sinking feeling he knew exactly what Saix was up to. "If you want to continue this, be my guest."

Seifer grit his teeth, anger dancing in his eyes. And he thought they'd been getting along so well.

Axel's nails dug into his arm as he yanked on it. "Hey idiot, what do you think you're doing? Trying to get him to help you swim back wherever you came from?"

Hayner snatched his other arm. "Okay, I believe you went toe-to-toe with this giant moron over here, but have you forgotten that you're not exactly a VIP on this tiny boat in the middle of the ocean?"

"Giant?" Axel muttered, indignant.

"Thanks for telling me what I already know," he shook them off. "But if Captain Saix is going to keep sneak attacking me, I'd rather get this handled now."

Saix gave a low chuckle, moving towards the center of the rough circle of men. "I'd be happy to fight you." He looked up at the moon. "Let's see if there really is more to you than meets the eye."

"What you see is what you get I'm afraid," Roxas could swear he could feel blood rushing all through his body. This might be a bit of a desperate move, but if Saix saw him in a fight all out, maybe he'd be convinced that whatever he was trying to get out of him wasn't there. All he had to do was get beat up by his prison keeper without revealing anything more. Easy…

Captain Saix unsheathed his weapon, a large sword, probably a claymore. The way he lifted it with ease had Roxas worried about his clever, mostly moronic plan getting him permanently injured or killed.

"You realize that I just promised not to kiss your wounds better anymore," Axel whispered, earning him an elbow in the ribs.

"I'm sure they'll manage to heal somehow," he raised his sword, walking forward to meet Saix. "Let's get this over with."

"You were so gung-ho a minute ago," Saix jeered. His yellow eyes narrowed as he surveyed his opponent. "I'll try not to break you."

Roxas twirled the blade in his hand experimentally. "I'd appreciate it." He wasn't entirely sure he'd said that out loud, since his heart was beating so loud in his ears. He gripped the handle of the sword tight, for good grip and not because he was steadying his shaking.

"Fool," in the blink of an eye Saix charged him. Roxas raised his blade to parry, but the force of Saix's swing easy drove his cutlass into the deck. He looked up just in time to receive a captain's fist to the face. He jumped back, pulling his sword with him as he tried to recover from the shock of the blow. There was a ringing, and a little blurry vision, but that probably wasn't a hindrance.

The smaller blond dodge the next attack, wincing at the sound of the claymore meeting wood. The weapon was heavy as is, and Saix's speed and power made it unbelievably dangerous. Hopefully it wasn't his intention to lighten the boat's weight tonight, and only to rough Roxas up.

He had to use his speed, and not directly have a power match. Saix was most assuredly going to defeat him in an arm wrestling match. He moved back and forth, rolling under the scarred man's next swing and jamming his hilt into his stomach. He moved back, but Saix managed to backhand him on his way. "I misjudged you."

Roxas met his next ferocious attack, straining to block each swing and deal with the recoil. His attacks were manic. The aggressive man had transformed from a cool and collected one into a berserk monster. He was beginning to wonder how in control he really was. "Move aside!" He yelled, knocking the blue-eyed fighter across the deck.

He scrambled up, rolling aside to get out of the way of his next move. Why were the people on this ship so unexpectedly fierce combatants?

Saix was trying to do as much damage to his new sword as Axel had done to the previous one. He had to keep letting the tall man's attacks slide off, and it didn't leave much room for an opening. The captain glared at him as he pinned his sword. "Is this all you can manage?"

"Does this mean you're not surrendering?" Roxas grunted as Saix tried to disarm him, succeeding in keeping the sword, even as he was kicked away.

He walked over to where Roxas had gotten frantically to his feet. His breath was heavy as he watched warily for the next strike. Blocking it made his hands numb, jarring his body with the blow, forcing him on one knee. He tried to get out of the way but Saix brought the blade down again, forcing him to guard instead of escape. This time the captain was the one who slid his blade on his cutlass, shoving Roxas's sword behind his head as he brought the hilt down to bash Roxas on the skull.

It almost blacked him out, his cry of pain slipping out as his body hit the ground. His eyes managed to focus enough to see the wrong end of his opponent's sword pointed at him. Roxas heavy breathing was the only sound besides the waves as he tried to analyze if Saix was planning on finishing him off.

"Saix," Axel was suddenly there, looking worried between them. "I think we should probably call it a night."

Yellow eyes zipped over to the first mate. His look was condescending. "Yes. Everyone out of my sight, get to bed." No one moved. Everyone was probably curious if Roxas was included in that order. Saix turned to glare at the mass of bodies. "You're dismissed."

Most of them started to back away slowly. Hayner and Seifer were both still hesitating, Hayner in particular seeming to not want to leave Roxas where he was. Saix turned to Axel. "You're dismissed as well."

That didn't bode well. Roxas's consciousness was beginning to swim. "Can I be dismissed?"

Saix finally stopped aiming his weapon at the small blonde's face. "Yes, I assume you won't be quite so quick to pick fights in the future."

He bit back anything sarcastic, turning on his survival instincts he'd apparently forgotten about. "Yes sir."

The blue-haired victor glanced up at the night sky. "Maybe I was wrong." Without explaining he left, coldly ignoring the lingering crew as he headed for the captain's cabin.

Axel was suddenly next to him, supporting his shoulders he tried to sit up. His stomach turned. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Could you not?" Axel pleaded, pressing his hand against Roxas's head.

"You're hurting my head."

"I'm keeping what little brains you have inside of it," he took off his shirt, Roxas spotting the blood on his hands before the cloth was pressed against his skull.

Hayner knelt next to him. "I thought he was going to kill you."

"He might have," Axel said sharply, trying to help Roxas up. "If we don't stop him from bleeding everywhere. Help me get him to my room."

"I'm good right here," Roxas moaned in protest as Axel helped him stand. The world warped as a headache pounded mercilessly against his head. Hayner wrapped his other arm around his shoulders, their similar height more ideal than Axel bending down to do the same. Seifer slipped in on his other side despite his protest. "No, you go away."

"Shut up," Seifer barked.

They dragged his unwilling body after Axel, while he said rude things about them too distract from the dull and sharp pains fighting to dominate his frame. He wasn't sure how much sense he was making though. The remaining crew members dissipated as some said well-meaning words before leaving.

Roxas closed his eyes for a second to defend against the headache and nausea, trying to make his legs move next to Hayner and Seifer's legs, but his body didn't want to function. "Probably shouldn't fall asleep," he told them, his head swirling as unconsciousness claimed him.


End file.
